Cleo’s, the American Southern cuisine restaurant in Chicago, perhaps best known for its Creole-spiced fried fish and honey buttered 24-Karat Gold muffins, just opened on the North Side.
“I wanted to honor my grandmother Cleo,” said chef and owner Kristen Ashley, who opened her South Side Bronzeville flagship in 2019 and a Loop location in 2022. “I was always that granddaughter who was on her hip while she was cooking.”
Cleo’s celebrated its grand opening in Lakeview on Dec. 10.
The business went viral when influential TikTok food critic Keith Lee stopped by, rating his order a perfect 10 out of 10 — twice.
That order has been immortalized on the menu, and has become the bestseller at all three locations.
“The Ten features five pieces of our catfish and the pineapple candied sweet potatoes,” Ashley said. “When Keith Lee had Cleo’s for the first time, he took a piece of catfish and put a scoop of the pineapple candied sweet potatoes on top, ate it in one bite and just lost his mind.”
It’s a sweet and spicy bite, she added.
The meal also includes a signature muffin, inspired by honey butter that glistened like liquid gold.
“That’s where I came up with the 24-Karat Gold sauce,” said the chef. “We dip that cornbread muffin into the sauce.”
Another popular meal was renamed for a social media food reviewer closer to home, because it’s been her favorite for years.
“The Shanikky is three pieces of our fried catfish paired with three wings, and it comes with a 24-Karat Gold muffin,” said Ashley. “What sets it apart is we take jumbo lump crab, sauteed in a Creole butter sauce, and we put that on top of the catfish with house-made comeback sauce and a little bit of green onion.”
Comeback sauce is a fried food dip that’s traditionally creamy, sweet and slightly spicy, originally from Mississippi.
Cleodell Harper was born in Clarksville, Mississippi, in 1938.
“Cleo was my dad’s mom,” said the chef. “I have that quintessential story of all the family and friends always getting together at her house and just having a good meal.”
Her grandmother died three days after her 67th birthday in 2005. Nearly 10 years later, Ashley was working as a young sports journalist.
“As I got older, I was just like, you know what, I don’t think I want to do this anymore,” she said. “I want to do something to honor my grandmother.”
In the summer of 2014, she started a catering company.
The Purple Rain drink refers to the song by late legendary musician Prince, of course, but also goes back to her grandmother.
“She would take grape Kool-Aid and sugar and then add one more special ingredient and mix it up,” said the chef. “It’s a little tangy and kind of counterbalances all of the spiciness that you’re getting from the food.”
A peach cobbler cheesecake came from combining Ashley’s two favorite desserts, but doesn’t have one of her fun names yet, because she’s been busy.
“When my Bronzeville and downtown customers come on up to the North Side, as soon as they walk up, the first thing they’re going to notice is how large this Cleo’s is,” said the restaurateur. “The other two locations are very small, maybe 12 seats in Bronzeville and maybe 16 downtown.”
The new Lakeview location seats 50 inside, with a seasonal patio that will seat another 50 outside.
“When you walk in, even though it’s larger, you get that feeling of walking into my grandmother’s home,” Ashley said. “That kind of feeling is there with the warmth of the staff.”
That staff includes her father, Corey Harper, and her mother, Teresa Harper, who has a full-time job outside the restaurant but supports the chef behind the scenes. Brother Khameron Harper is the creative director for Cleo’s, which offers a line of merch with T-shirts, leggings and bucket hats.
The patio, expected to open in spring, will be dog-friendly.
“We’re in Lakeview,” said the chef, laughing. “We have to be.”
So how did she choose the neighborhood?
“When Keith Lee came to Cleo’s the first time, he went to Soul Prime too,” said Ashley, who became friends with that restaurant’s owner Shonya Williams, aka Chef Royce.
It’s the only dedicated soul food establishment in Lincoln Park.
“My aunt and I went to her restaurant and it was so beautiful,” said Ashley, who remembers saying during dinner that she would love to have a Cleo’s “up here somewhere.”
Her real estate agent eventually showed her the new location.
“When we pulled up, my jaw hit the floor,” said the chef. “And I was like, this is it.”
2826 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-799-8509, cleos.com
More new restaurant openings, in alphabetical order:
Kouklas Greek Eatery
James Beard Award-winning chef Jimmy Bannos Jr. (previously at The Purple Pig) has gone back to his Greek roots and out to the suburbs. Kouklas Greek Eatery said yamas in Niles on Dec. 30. Bannos Jr. and executive chef Kevin Stack (who’s also a business partner along with their general manager, Audrey Witte) have created a modern Greek American Chicagoan menu with live fire cooking, including a flaming bone marrow; pasta, featuring a reimagined pastitsio Bolognese style; and cocktails, with a Greek Martini shaken dirty with whipped feta stuffed olives; and much more for the 9,000 square foot freestanding restaurant with a 125-seat all-season terrace inspired by Greek island architecture set to open this spring.
7620 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles; 847-430-6622; kouklasgreekeatery.com
Semaphore Cafe
Richard Weber, founder and former owner of Bokeh, a Tribune Readers’ Choice Food Awards Neighborhood Bar of the Year nominee, just opened an all-day brunch and coffee shop near the Garfield Park Conservatory in a vintage building along the Green Line “L” tracks. Semaphore Cafe began brewing in East Garfield Park on Jan. 5. The menu offers espresso drinks plus egg sandwiches, including the Semaphore with hard fried eggs, Gruyere cheese and bacon jam in Texas toast; mains, with a country Benedict on biscuits; plus sweet and savory Dutch baby pancakes and waffles.
3458 W. Lake St., 773-758-9194, semaphorecafe.com
The Radicle
Joe Frillman, chef and co-owner of the Michelin green starred Daisies, has launched a new coastal Italian meets Midwest-inspired pizzeria and cocktail bar. The Radicle sprouted in Logan Square on Dec. 31. Named for the first part of a seedling to emerge from a seed, the Neapolitan-ish pizzas include a clam with Yukon Gold potatoes. The $10 cocktail menu features a low alcohol Sofritto with carrot kombucha and caramelized onion; and the sweets by Daisies lists a not safe for work name: “Porn Star Panna Cotta” with prosecco, orange, cream and Campari.
2523 N. Milwaukee Ave., radiclechicago.com
In memoriam:
Rick Gresh, a chef prodigy at 23 — who led the kitchens at Green Dolphin Street, David Burke’s Primehouse, the Virgin Hotel Chicago and more — died at 50 on Dec. 21.
Steve Chiappetti, a chef who grew up working in his family’s historic meatpacking business — and would later open three restaurants by 29, the first of many more, last leading food and beverage at the EMC2 and theWit Chicago hotels — died at 58 on Jan. 2.
Kristen Pierce-Sherrod, owner and CEO of Harold’s Chicken Corp. — who led the national franchise expansion of the most iconic Black-owned restaurant brand in Chicago, founded by her father, the late Harold Pierce — died at 55 in January, with funeral arrangements to be announced at a later date.
In restaurant closing news:
Time Out Market Chicago, the international media branded Fulton Market food hall that opened to fanfare in 2019, will close permanently on Jan. 23.
916 W. Fulton Market, timeout.com/time-out-market-chicago
Sip & Savor Rosenwald, the beloved Black-owned coffee house at the historic Rosenwald Courts Apartments in Bronzeville, has transitioned to a rental and special events space after closing on Dec. 15.
Bloom Plant Based Kitchen, the artful Wicker Park vegan restaurant opened by chef and owner Rodolfo Cuadros in 2021, will close permanently on Feb. 21.
1559 N. Milwaukee Ave., 312-363-3110, bloompb.com
In charitable pizza and pup news:
Piece Brewery and Pizzeria, masters of New Haven-style thin crust, is hosting the fourth annual Slice to Meet You campaign for the PAWS Chicago animal shelter. Each $35 limited edition pizza sold brings in $70 in donations (thanks to matching donors) for over $190,000 to date donated to the dogs and cats at PAWS. (Full disclosure: My dog Kōl Chu is an adopted PAWS pup.) Order The Larry pizza now, with Hot Doug’s smoked sausage and Ezzo pepperoni, by WWE star CM Punk in memory of his late PAWS pup Larry, then The Wieners Circle special on Feb. 8 and a Rick Bayless pie on March 9.
1927 W. North Ave., 773-772-4422, piecechicago.com
Do you have notable restaurant news in the Chicago area? Email restaurant critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu at lchu@chicagotribune.com.
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